In the U.S., credit unions have a clear organizational structure. All credit unions belong to one or the other parent credit union (there are 35 of them in the U.S.). Today in the UK there are about 700 credit unions with assets exceeding 200 million pounds. To reduce the risk of default on loans members of the credit union shall the joint guarantee. Credit unions of the open type are still controlled by their members, but at the same time provide services to people who are not its members (external customers). Credit unions are competitors of savings institutions, adding interest on deposits of members. This applies to the shares, as well as to additional funds transferred to the account in the credit union. The right to use the services of the credit union have only its members. Credit unions historically formed as a special form of social support, initially taken upon themselves the social mission of protecting the interests of citizens in the field of financial services. On the consumer credit market in the U.S. credit unions are on the third place after the commercial banks and finance companies and are ahead of savings institutions, not taking into account the loans on real estate.
To reduce the risk of default on loans members of the credit union shall the joint guarantee. Credit unions of the open type are still controlled by their members, but at the same time provide services to people who are not its members (external customers). Today in the UK there are about 700 credit unions with assets exceeding 200 million pounds.